The Federal Aviation Administration plans to tell airlines they must check their 787 Dreamliner fleets for a manufacturing defect that's been known for years but is only now being considered for a mandatory inspection.
The issue involves tiny gaps that could be present in the plane's dome-shaped forward-pressure bulkhead, which is located at the nose of the fuselage and serves as a barrier for the pressurized interior cabin.
Boeing Co. said the defect is not a flight hazard, but it previously advised airlines to check the bulkhead during each aircraft's next heavy maintenance check, which occurs at 12 years or 24,000 flight cycles.
"Boeing issued proactive guidance to operators last October to complete a one-time, detailed visual inspection of the airplane’s forward pressure bulkhead," the company said in a written statement, adding that there have been no findings to date on any completed Dreamliners. "We support the FAA making that guidance mandatory, and the in-service fleet can continue normal operations."
This issue was first identified in mid-2021 as part of a Boeing program to identify defects, mostly paper-thin gaps in the fuselage. The bulkhead issue affects roughly 980 in-service Dreamliners.
In a note published March 14, the FAA told airlines they can inspect the section for fatigue cracking and other damage during normal airframe maintenance inspections.
The proposed directive "was prompted by reports of multiple nonconformances, including excessive gaps and pull-up, found during the assembly and installation of the forward pressure bulkhead," the FAA said in a draft notice. The regulator would require an internal and external detailed inspection of the part.
The FAA is accepting comments on the proposed rule through April 28.
Boeing briefly halted Dreamliner deliveries in 2013 due to documentation issues related to the bulkhead, which is built by Spirit AeroSystems of Wichita, Kan. Last year, a whistleblower said Spirit fired him after he raised concerns about improperly drilled holes in the bulkheads.
The issue is not related to fixes Boeing made to Dreamliners that were put into inventory after paper-thin gaps were found in their fuselages. The so-called shadow factories that were set up to repair the flaws, first in North Charleston and then in Everett, Wash., shut down this month after 122 aircraft were fixed.